LotR - Rise to War {LegoRomance}

CIX: What once was... Now is!

Imladris, 3021, September 29th

In the days that followed, Legolas, Xena, Gimli, and the unnamed son travelled toward Imladris in order to gather Xena's belongings and return to Ithilien, as said. Xena and Legolas had not spoken with one another since their discussion in Mithlond. Gimli and the newborn were the only sources of sound on the long voyage. Perhaps it was an attempt at vanity, but neither of them would have been near as interested in initiating a new conversation if they had not been so obsessed with their confusion. Each of them was thinking about new worlds they had created and anticipating potentially undesirable outcomes.

Prior to this, Xena had seen that the father of her son no longer braided his long hair and wore it lose the bulk of the time. Although he still carried his bow, quiver, and knives, he secured them against Ador most of the time. The colour he wore, a mixture of silver and grey, was the most exquisite combination of hues and textures she had ever encountered. Legolas's mind was wandering as he contemplated his son and his new identity as a parent, despite the fact that he seemed to be in good shape. Up until now, he had only seen the infant from a distance, fearing to approach him or his mother.

The tale of fatherhood was about every paragraph and word, not just the last page. It was about how feelings of love, protection, joy, and appreciation for the present were communicated. If he did not do that, if he did not care about the words, the book would manage itself. And for the last year and a half, he had missed his son's development. For this reason, he was still angry with her, but his surprise at having a son prevented him from approaching her.

The elf would sometimes whisper a few words to his horse, which would then listen, and they would modify their direction. Once they were close to Imladris, they set up camp and intended to resume their trek the next morning. It was the first time they had stayed more than three hours in one area, but they felt safe since they were on the outskirts of Imladris.

Xena sat in the shade of a tree under a tree trunk while embracing her son to protect him from everything and everyone. Though her urge to be held was greater than her son's, she was unable to think straight since his aroma stayed so near to her.

Gimli, exhausted from the long hours of riding after Legolas, was already sound asleep next to her. Even though the dwarf and elf had participated in several adventures together, the dwarf was unable to adjust to galloping behind Ador and preferred to go on foot. Now he was asleep and enjoying the tranquilly of the surrounding woods as well as the sound of the nearby river.

Legolas walked out under the pretence of scouting the region and returned later that night to find Xena still seated on the trunk with his son. Our son. Both his and her thoughts caused him to leap uncomfortably. A few days had passed since he learned he had a son and a few days since he was meant to have a partner, but he stood alone.

Legolas saw the beautiful image of Xena carrying the baby in her arms with his arms folded in front of his chest. It was difficult for him to adjust to the idea of having a son who was his biological offspring. Nonetheless, he seemed to have been aware of his presence from the day he was born.

Without thinking, he skipped next to Xena and sat a foot away from the tree trunk. He remained there for some minutes before he looked around and found his son seated so close to him. He recognised that he wanted to embrace and converse with him. However, he feared doing so.

He remembered how easily his dad was able to remove the baby from Xena since she did not object and the youngster did not protest. When his grandfather was holding and feeding him, he seemed to be chuckling joyfully. And he knew that Thranduil would have spent countless hours with him, but he was unwilling to even touch him.